Not everyone believes in science as a means to survive. It could have a positive effect from the perspective of those who have renounced their faith in a god or only rely on a scientific discovery to save them or their world or whatever. But advancements made by science for technological or medicinal uses usually backfires. Those who depend on those things to get through the day are let down by it one way or another. Despite the let down, they still choose to use it because they may find themselves afraid to try and live without it.

I find that advancements in science tend to lead the masses to believe that human life can be sustained for longer periods of time, etc. That we can live life on the edge with less worry about weather or not we'll still be able to fully function should something go wrong. Are scientific advancements, especially when you consider the means of testing them, ever really a positive thing? Just because we can find ways to live a little longer or discover new planets, etc, does it mean we will so easily forget all the other things it can do like wipe nations off the face of the earth? What science has done to most countries in the world is make them lazy and reckless.

Flip the coin and you could have religious folk working to "peacefully" put an end to certain scientific advancements. These people would be firm in a belief that perhaps a prophecy claiming good years ahead would come for all mankind. However, religious leaders lose faith in the prophecy when certain discoveries and advancements threaten to set the world or nation on an inevitable path of destruction. Another less talked about part of the prophecy could have hidden warnings of a threat against the entire world. Who would have thought that the threat would come from a species from another planet?

If the story is told from the religious point of view, when all hell breaks loose, it's the armies of robots and advanced soldiers fighting for humanity. Depending on how complex character relationships might be, a single friendship between a religious guy and an advanced solider could make or break the fate of the world.

Playing as a religious zealot turned solider would be a great way to see how he becomes dependent on technology, etc at certain points in the story to help him and a few others achieve their goal of containing the alien threat. So a player would view science as mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs, with a negative view of it.

The entire story would revolve around this one guy's strong embrace of the modern advancements. It will also turn out that, after much of the modern society has been wiped out, this guy is chosen by everyone he influences to become the leader of the new era, the era spoken of in the prophecy. Afterwards, the era in which he leads is fueled by some small technological advances to maintain lands for farming, etc. Scientific advancements were never the great threat the religious folk thought it was, and once the guy proves that to them, a more moderate generation is formed under him.